


A Choice of Encouragement

by saruma_aki



Series: Coldflash Week 2017 B [3]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: A Bit of Fluff, Angst, Coldflash Week 2017, Coldflashweek2017B, M/M, Souls, Wingfic, Wings, a bit of humor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-07
Updated: 2017-10-07
Packaged: 2019-01-09 23:48:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,267
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12286803
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saruma_aki/pseuds/saruma_aki
Summary: It was because of the particle-accelerator explosion, because of the lightning, because of science, because of the fact that the light refracting off the particles was too fast for regular humans to see. It was because of all that and probably so much more that he found himself feeling like an intruder while simply walking down the street.





	A Choice of Encouragement

**Author's Note:**

> This is for day seven of Coldflash Week 2017 in October. The prompt was wingfic. I did my best with this one. I've never written a wingfic before but this was the prompt I had an idea for first. I really liked the idea, so I hope you guys enjoy it as much I did.
> 
>  
> 
> EDIT: Listen, if you're going to read this story, please just accept how I've chosen to present it. I get if it has a certain effect on you, but that's not the effect it'll have on everyone. And my decision to present it like this is a purposeful choice. There's a point to it, okay? And if you have a problem with it, I don't mind you telling me about it, but if you're going to accuse me or berate me for it, I will kindly suggest that you leave because clearly this story just wasn't for you (and as much I like you guys getting enjoyment from my fics, I really write them for me and then decide to share them with you, and they take effort, so if i'm deciding to share my hardwork with you guys, please be respectful of that.)

Caitlin’s wings were white with coal tips, wavering in intensity in her moments of indecision, but always small, tucked close to her body, her soul firmly nestled within having no desire to be free or get away from the people she was around.

Cisco’s were brown and red with gold accents at the tips that twisted out like the broken ends of wires, sparking when he was excited, an electrical current that lit up along the edge of his wings, and spitting weakly when he was angry or sad, drawing in closer. Like Caitlin’s, his wings were small, soul content where it was, the people he surrounded himself with making him happy, no desire to leave in sight.

Their wings were like a literal window to their soul, but more than that—a physical manifestation of their souls, vivid and bright, showing what they were afraid to let the world see, expressing what they didn’t know how to.

They were beautiful.

And Barry constantly felt like an intruder.

Because he could see it, could see their souls, could see a part of them so private that not even they could see it themselves.

 

 

 

It always felt like an invasion of privacy being him, seeing what he could. That was until Leonard Snart. Leonard Snart who had no wings, but stood proud and strong, confident and self assured—there stood a man who enjoyed life so much that his soul was so firmly nestled in his body that Barry just couldn’t see it.

It actually provided a challenge Barry hadn’t faced since the particle accelerator blew up, one he very much enjoyed because for once he wasn’t looking at someone’s feelings without them trusting him enough to share. For once he was able to see the person as they wanted to be seen and then get to know them.

And getting to know Leonard Snart, criminal or not, was a real treat.

 

 

 

“The protector of Central City wants to take me out to dinner?” Leonard repeated, an incredulous expression on his face, eyebrow raised as Barry rocked to and fro on the balls of his feet, feeling a little exposed in his civilian clothing but no less certain in his decision. He watched the slight twitch at the corner of Leonard’s lip in slow motion, how it settled into a smirk for a millisecond before disappearing as the male pursed and quirked his lips, the world speeding up again. “Why?”

“Because I want to get to know you,” Barry responded easily, swallowing thickly. For all his assurance in his idea, he had to admit he hadn’t really thought about how it would work out.

“You’re kidding, right,” the male asked, familiar drawl in place, hip cocking, his hand on the cold gun which was strapped to his thigh. It made Barry almost wish he could see Leonard’s wings, but also excited that he couldn’t, thrilled.

“No, why would I be? I was thinking maybe Italian,” Barry continued, shoving his hands in his pockets. “The Italians always have something for everyone—of course, unless you’re lactose intolerant in which case we could get sushi.”

“And if I’m allergic to seafood?”

“They have veggie options,” Barry countered easily and the smirk appeared for real this time on Leonard’s face for more than a second, blue eyes twinkling with interest.

“Are you paying?”

“Is that a yes?”

“If you’re paying, why not,” Leonard responded, shrugging his shoulders. “If I end up in prison—well, we both know I won’t be in there for long.”

Barry grinned, watching Leonard slowly step closer, listened to the slight scuff of the heels of his boots on the cement floor. “It’s a good thing I’m not here to take you in, then.”

 

 

 

When Barry walked into his lab the next morning, it was to be greeted by the sight of a Flash coffee with a bag of freshly made pastries next to it, a note tagged on the bag.

‘Breakfast is on me’.

 

 

 

His blood rushed as he watched the way Leonard moved, fatal in his approach, the same confidence and assurance oozing off of him, making Barry’s breath catch in his throat and his lips curl up in a smirk.

He couldn’t help it.

What had started off as a desire to get to know a man he couldn’t see the personal emotions of had grown into something completely unanticipated, evolving into a ball of emotions that threatened to bowl him over every time with every beat of his heart. He felt fondness flood his insides every time he encountered Leonard on a crime scene, the way he would stroll around like he owned the place, cold gun in his grasp.

It was delightful in an odd way how Leonard hadn’t changed despite their meet ups, how he hadn’t felt like he should change, satisfied as he was with who he was. It gave Barry a sort of rush to see that high of a self esteem with his own two eyes; see how he didn’t care to change for someone else.

It shouldn’t have been attractive. None of it should’ve been attractive, but it was, and Barry was spiraling fast.

He knew Leonard expected Barry to give it all he had when they faced off, didn’t expect a jail free card. He knew Leonard wasn’t going to give Barry a break and let himself be taken in, time after time slipping out of Barry’s fingers only for them to meet again later on the street, both in less recognizable clothes to eat Chinese food and laugh at the fortunes in fortune cookies.

‘Enjoy life while you have it’ was the fortune Leonard had received that night and he had snorted, waving it at Barry, saying it probably applied more to Barry than himself.

It was taped to the bag of pastries the next day when Barry entered his lab, an odd cartoon drawing of a brain at the end, making Barry’s lips quirk in amusement, but his brow furrow in confusion at the black dot on the side of the brain.

A simple mistake, he brushed off, taking a sip of the coffee that had been left next to the bag of pastries.

 

 

 

“Why do you keep touching my back?” Leonard mumbled, muscles twitching slightly as Barry’s fingers traced small designs on the expanse. His fingers would run over scars and loop off of them, drawing odd designs on the bare skin.

“Do you want me to stop?”

“Didn’t say that, scarlet—I asked why,” Leonard responded, turning his head to meet Barry’s gaze, arms folded under his pillow, face half buried in the fabric, captivating blue eyes meeting his own.

He shrugged a shoulder in response, rubbing idly at Leonard’s shoulder blade with his thumb. “I just like it,” he responded, watching the way the skin shifted and his shoulder blades moved when Leonard twisted slightly to face Barry better, his brow slightly furrowed. He swore he could see the barest hint of wings there, but it was so small he couldn’t be sure.

“You like touching my back?”

“It’s a nice back,” Barry defended, lips pursing a bit, cheeks flushing slightly as he caught sight of Leonard’s small smirk. Dragging his nails down the soft skin, he stuck his tongue out at Leonard as the male’s expression faltered, his eyebrows furrowing and muscles jolting, feeling a little shiver of success run down his back. He shifted closer. “It’s a really nice back,” he whispered, fingers a light presence on the flesh, watching the goose bumps rise up and the small shiver that went down Leonard’s spine.

“Oh, really,” the man hummed and Barry grinned.

 

 

 

Mick’s eyes on him made tension build in his muscles, shoulders hunching slightly, his lips pulling into a small frown as he watched Leonard move around the room, trying not to be obvious about his discomfort. He could see Mick’s wings out of the corner of his eyes, a decent distance from his body, his soul clearly satisfied for the moment with its position in this world.

“Listen, you guys really should stop stealing,” Barry muttered, flashing across the room to grab the bag from Mick’s fingers, avoiding the blast from the heat gun that landed where he had previously been.

“Now, now, Flash, where’s the fun in that?” Leonard drawled, heels clicking on the ground, head tilting to look at him, a smirk on his lips and Barry could imagine the twinkling of those blue eyes hidden behind the blue tinted lenses of the goggles he wore.

He watched Mick make an aborted gesture out of the corner of his eyes as he turned to look at him, catching Leonard moving out of his peripheral when he did to see him thumbing at his nose with a contemplative look, a small furrow between his brows.

“The cops will be here soon,” Barry continued, ignoring Leonard’s comment, though he did toss the man a weak glare, stomach twisting in delight at the way the man’s smirk broadened, hand dropping to his side.

“Guess that’s our cue to leave,” Mick grunted, looking over at Leonard who gave a small nod, Mick walking over to the door and Barry moved quickly to stop him, falling straight for the plan as he felt the blast of the cold gun on his feet, freezing him to the ground.

“Till next time, Flash,” Leonard drawled, grinning as Mick jogged over to him, pulling out what seemed to be a handkerchief and handing it to Leonard who pressed it to his nose as he turned away. They disappeared through the employee exit, Barry standing with his feet frozen to the ground and trying to fight down the rush of affection that swelled in him in response to Leonard’s parting jaunty wave.

When Leonard returned to his apartment, it was to be greeted by the sight of Barry sitting on his couch, drinking hot chocolate from a mug, his foot nudging another mug closer to Leonard, lots of little marshmallows on top, tucking his feet under the heating pad on the couch. “You should be a little nicer to me seeing as I’m the one that keeps paying for your sweet tooth,” Barry mused, grinning as Leonard walked over after slipping his shoes off, picking up his mug before sitting next to Barry, carding his fingers through his hair.

“Ah, but I’m the one paying for the electricity warming your feet,” Leonard countered, laughing at the mildly disgruntled look Barry sent him, nails scraping lightly at his scalp. “I’ll aim a little higher, then, next time.”

“Please don’t. I like my size just as it is,” Barry responded, mild horror written on his features that slowly morphed into a grin as Leonard laughed in response, blue eyes bright with jubilance. The laughter seemed to erase the dark circles around Leonard’s eyes and make the pale, drawn expression that had been appearing more frequently lately disappear.

It made Barry’s heart flutter.

 

 

 

“Let’s go climb a mountain,” Barry mumbled, looking over at Leonard who blinked at him with hazy eyes, looking sated and sleepy, limbs lax and practically oozing contentment.

“A mountain,” Leonard repeated, words holding a small slur, his eyes slowly blinking as he tilted his head to look up at Barry who was propped up on his elbow and looking down at him with a smile, his fingers tracing patterns on Leonard’s abdomen, feeling the way the muscles twitched under his fingertips, jolting and shivering whenever he dragged his nails across, light red lines appearing in response, making scars stand out in sharper relief on the olive skin.

“Yeah,” Barry responded, “just the two of us. It’ll be fun.”

“Why do you want to climb a mountain?” Leonard drawled, tilting his head up to meet Barry’s gaze better, brow furrowing just slightly, curiosity filling his expression.

Barry gave a one armed shrug, dragging a nail over Leonard’s collar bone. “I don’t know. I’ve just always wanted to climb one, and Joe doesn’t want to do it with me, Iris isn’t really about that, Cisco says that his tech is better, and Caitlin isn’t a fan of climbing.”

“What makes you think I’ll say yes?”

Barry grinned. “Because you’re fun,” he responded, laughing at the way Leonard rolled his eyes in response.

“That’s an awful reason.”

“Good enough for me. So, is that a yes?”

 

 

 

“Barry, you’re not doing anything illegal, right?” Joe asked as they sat on the couch in front of the television, both of them with a beer in their hands, Joe idly flicking through channels.

“What? No, of course not—why would you even think that?” Barry spluttered, brows knitting together, curiosity mixed with concern crossing his features as he shifted to look at Joe properly, feeling anxiety crawling under his skin.

Joe shrugged, muting the television to look over at Barry. “You disappear some nights even when you’re not out being a superhero and all that, and I never here about where you’re going or what you’re doing. I’m worried.”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Barry soothed, the corners of his lips quirking upwards even as his mind raced. How had he not even realized that he was spending so much time out of the house without explanation? Leonard was admittedly distracting, but he never thought that he would get so caught up in them that he’d be out so much. It always felt like there was so much time in between each instance that he got to see Leonard, like a small eternity between each meeting.

Had he really fallen so deep?

“Then where are you going, Barry?”

He scratched his cheek awkwardly, clearing his throat. “Well, I’m kind of, sort of, maybe, seeing someone? But it’s still new, so I’ve been keeping it on the down low,” he finally responded with, trying to not look as awkward as he felt and failing miserably.

What he had with Leonard was still new, but not that new. It had already been months, but neither of them had really discussed what this thing between them was. They had simply accepted it as it was and moved on, not applying a label. It made Barry wonder if they were even on the same page when it came to thinking about what they were.

Did Leonard consider them a couple?

Was Barry just a friend?

Did Leonard even consider Barry a friend?

The man trusted him enough to let him hang around his apartment even when Leonard wasn’t there, and he trusted Barry to not poison him and to not report his address to the police. He didn’t ask for Barry to change or to take it easy on him when they encountered each other on a crime scene, didn’t ask him to compromise his beliefs for Leonard’s sake.

Would Leonard be that easy and accepting with someone who he didn’t consider a friend?

Or maybe it was a whole ‘forbidden fruit’ thing?

But Leonard didn’t seem like that kind of person. The guy said he wasn’t even a fan of one night stands. Leonard was a private person, but very straightforward and blunt. He would’ve told Barry right off the bat.

‘I’m not in the business of abusing people and neither are you’ had been what Leonard had told him at the start of this engagement of theirs, expression serious, focused completely on Barry, making sure he knew how sincere he was being. ‘That means if this is going to work, you need to be honest about what you want—you tell me what you want, I’ll tell you what I want, and we’ll go from there’ had been what he followed with and Barry remembered that it had been at that moment that he started to realize that what was initially him wanting to get to know someone he couldn’t see the wings of, simple curiosity, had turned into something different, deeper, more emotional.

“Oh,” Joe nodded, a smirk pulling at his lips. “Care to describe the lucky lady?”

“Well,” he began awkwardly, taking a pull of his beer as if it would somehow help ease his nerves, “it’s a guy, actually.”

Joe blinked before nodding, smiling a little. “Okay, so describe the lucky guy.”

 

 

 

When Barry walked into his lab, he paused as he looked at the cup of coffee and the bag of pastries that sat on his desk, a picture on the side of the bag this time. Setting his messenger bag on the floor beside him as he sat down in his chair, he gently pulled the picture off, looking at the natural scenery, turning the paper over to check if there was anything on the back.

A bright smile pulled at his lips, cheeks flushing in happiness.

‘This looks like a good one to climb, don’t you think?’

 

 

 

He told everyone he would be out of town for the weekend next week.

He couldn’t stop smiling.

 

 

 

“You know, for being a speedster, you move kind of slow,” Leonard called back to him from where he was a couple paces ahead of Barry, lean legs taking long strides up the sloping path that was slowly becoming less pronounced the higher they went.

Barry didn’t know how it was the guy managed to sound so composed when the trek had to be more taxing on him than Barry. Barry could super speed his way up the mountain and back down in a second without breaking a sweat, though he would definitely not do that now. He wanted to climb a mountain at a regular space without using his super speed, wanted to see the scenery progress slowly, feel the burn in his legs even as sore muscles healed quickly, never having the chance to start. He wanted to feel the sweat bead on his forehead, feel the sun on his skin when it broke through the cover of the trees that were towering above them, feel the shift from soft dirt to harder rock the higher they went.

“I’m just enjoying the view,” Barry responded, a cheery tone to his voice.

He saw Leonard bob his head in a nod of agreement. “Nature always is quite the view.”

“Not the view I was talking about, but agreed.”

Leonard stopped, turning to look at Barry who paused as well with the most innocent expression he could muster despite the fact that the corners of his lips kept twitching helplessly up into a smile despite his best efforts.

“I will push you down this mountain, Barry Allen, and don’t think I won’t,” the male threatened, but it was empty and there was mirth dancing in his eyes, and he flicked Barry’s forehead lightly before turning and resuming the climb.

Barry couldn’t help but think that maybe it was odd to feel such a rush of affection for a man who just threatened to shove him down a mountain, but his insides warmed at the flick to his forehead and his heart stuttered in his chest.

Leonard was truly something else, he felt. The emotions the man inspired in him were unlike anything Barry had felt before, mimicking the standard emotions he felt for those he cared for, but they seemed to be amplified and mixed, leading to a range of emotions he hadn’t even explored before. There weren’t any of the butterflies in his stomach that people talked about or any of that whole heart skipping a beat business. There was just contentment and a kind of peace and understanding he didn’t feel with other people.

It was like a rush every time he was with Leonard, but also like a calming wave, like the nature around him—breathtakingly beautiful but soothing all the same.

It didn’t make sense how a person could make him feel like this, how someone could render him almost incapacitated with happiness, how someone could fill his life with just their presence and make him feel like nothing could ever really go wrong even when things got hard.  It didn’t make sense, but at the same time it did because it was Leonard and things with Leonard just seemed to make sense.

 

 

 

“A what,” Barry sputtered, watching Leonard look down into his hot chocolate with a contemplative frown.

“A time-traveler or something—says he needs us to save the world,” Leonard muttered, hands shifting their hold on the mug, lifting it to his lips to take a small sip, long fingers flexing slightly against the ceramic.

“Are you going to go?”

Leonard shrugged his shoulders, setting down his mug. “I’m not really in the business of saving people,” were the words that came out of his mouth as he leaned back, brow furrowed. His expression seemed almost distant, long fingers tapping an odd beat on his knee, twisting the ring on his index finger around with his thumb on his other hand as he thought.

Barry set down his own mug, turning to look at Leonard more head on, his expression serious. “I think you should go.”

Leonard blinked, cocking an eyebrow as he turned his head to look at him, giving a hum to show Barry had his attention. “Why’s that?”

“Because,” Barry began, moving closer and reaching out a hand to cup Leonard’s cheek gently, “there’s good in you, Len, and I think this will be good for you.”

Leonard’s brow furrowed, but he didn’t push Barry away or tell him off. He simply stared, his blue gaze piercing but soft, searching, and Barry stared back, his lips pulled into a soft smile.

“It would give me the chance to steal things throughout all of time,” Leonard mused after a few moments of silence, seeming satisfied with whatever he had seen in Barry’s expression.

Barry couldn’t help but kiss him.

 

 

 

“I’ll see you when you get back,” Barry whispered to him, but his arms were wrapped tight around Leonard, not wanting to let go even though he was the one that had told the man it would be a good idea.

Leonard gave him a smile, not forcing Barry to pull away before he was ready, something Barry found himself extremely grateful about, his arms slowly loosening their hold on the man before he was finally stepping back, looking at the guy.

He watched Leonard walk away, watched him climb up to the roof all the people recruited were supposed to meet at and felt his breath catch in his throat as he watched him grow smaller the higher up he went. And it was when he was up on the roof, buildings no longer as close to his body as usual, that Barry felt his heart shatter.

Because where he could see Leonard on the roof, just above him, emerging from his back was two of the largest wings Barry had ever seen, arching high through the air, glittering like galaxies, so far away from Leonard’s body.

They were so far away.

 

 

 

He wouldn’t have been able to stop the tears if he tried.

 

 

 

It had been months since he had last heard from Leonard, since he had last heard from anyone on the Legends crew.

He was in STAR Labs working with Cisco and Caitlin, working on a new meta human case when there were strong gusts of wind outside, one of the computers flashing an alert, all of them gathering around the screen as Cisco pulled up the security cameras, watching as the image of the parking lot appeared, bare except for their own cars, but then a door was opening out of seemingly nowhere and then out were stepping the Legends crew.

“Oh my god,” Barry breathed, a smile breaking out over his features as he watched them move out of the view of the camera, towards the entrance and he looked to the entryway, watching as they filed in, looking a bit beaten up but proud nonetheless.

Mick looked somber, though, lips pulled down into a frown, head bowed and shoulders hunched.

Barry’s frantic eyes landed on him, meeting Mick’s gaze, feeling his gut twist as the man approached him, letting his hand be taken and feeling his stomach plummet as the small weight of a metal band landed in his palm.

“No,” he whispered, eyes burning, breath shuddering out of him as he looked at Mick, desperation crawling inside of him, his vision fracturing, but with a blink he could see clear as day Mick’s tight expression, the tension in the corners of his eyes, the way his eyes held the same agony Barry could feel forming inside of him and tearing him apart. “How?” he croaked finally, fingers curling tight around the ring, feeling the metal press into his skin.

“Blew himself up to save us,” Mick responded, gruff voice tight. Barry swallowed thickly, feel the heat of the tears sliding down his cheeks, watched the way Mick’s own eyes seemed to shine with moisture, although no tears fell. “Better than how he was supposed to die,” Mick added after a few moments, looking at Barry seriously.

And Barry knew.

He thought of a fortune taped to a pastry bag with a cartoon brain drawn at the end, thought of the black dot in the middle that he had thought had been an accident, thought of bruised eyes and drawn expressions, of small droplets of blood staining the skin above his upper lip.

He knew, put it together long ago but didn’t want to think about it—didn’t want to believe it.

“You knew as well as I did that he was a dead man walking.”

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed!
> 
> You can find me on instagram ( @saruma_aki ) and tumblr ( @saruma-aki )
> 
> Let me know your thoughts in the comments below <3


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